There really is some weird sort of magical power in music. I don’t think there’s a single mood that is excluded in the musical world. There’s music for motivation, music to raise your heart rate and get you pumped up for your game/event, there’s music to calm you down when it’s time to wind down for bed, and there’s even music for when you study (classical all the way!). The point is music is powerful and it doesn’t discriminate between events (yes that means we, as chronic disease sufferers, can use it to our advantage). I’ve used music to my advantage both in a sport context and a disease context, so let’s traverse the worlds of both realms shall we?
I’m going to tackle the simpler of the two right off the bat, and in this case, that’s the sports realm. I still remember playing high school football and being in the locker room before the game, with the radio blasting anything from hardcore rap to hardcore metal. We used to blast it so loud that you could probably hear it in the portables. It seems so stereotypical, a bunch of high school athletes, blasting music, jumping around, and getting psyched up, but there really was something to it. I still remember every game day we played music, I was ready to run out to that field ready for battle. The effects were even more apparent on away games when we didn’t always have our music. The nerves would be lingering at the edge of my consciousness, prying their way into my brain, and filling me with doubt. Those games eventually turned into long, losing games.
I think the link is quite strong here. Music just has that ability to pump you up and get you in the zone. I know this isn’t news, but it is definitely worth repeating. But one thing not known as much is the calming use of music with sport. When I was involved in martial arts, I would compete. Competing in martial arts is a whole new level. With regular sports, you know injuries happen, but they usually aren’t the goal of competition. In martial arts, the goal IS to break your opponent in whatever way (inside the rules, of course) possible. I used to be so filled with adrenaline when I would go to compete that it was paralyzing. In my first ever martial arts match, I had to basically argue with myself to move. I had no grip strength, I forgot what I was doing, and went into pure instinct fight-or-flight mode. This isn’t so good when you are trying to perform. So I adapted a really cool strategy. I started listening to soothing music. This ranged from my study music (classical), to jazz, and even soundtrack music (although some soundtrack music – like the soundtrack to Gladiator – will only get you more psyched up). I found this was a good way to relax, keep my heart rate down, and approach my matches logically. Strangely enough, it was this yin and yang of music that has helped me so much through sports.
Yet, disease is no different. There are days where I need pick-me ups to get through that front door and tackle my day, and there are other times where I need something to destroy my anxiety, bring my heart rate down, and help me come back to the logical sanity of everyday life. Queue music. Music is the medium that gives me that instant ability to go from 0-100 miles an hour, or bring me down from seeing red and tunnel vision, to calm and collected. It’s easy to picture how music pumps you up and makes you feel invincible, but just to drive my point home about demolishing anxiety, I want to share a story of music’s own personally victory over my colitis.
To set the stage, I was on the bus to school. Now, I’m talking public transit, not those yellow school buses. My bus ride to school is normally roughly 15 minutes, which doesn’t seem so long, but, when in the midst of a colitis attack, can seem like an eternity in hell. On this particular day, everything was going as planned. Made it to the bus stop in record time. The bus pulled in and I got on. Then, of course, just as we rounded the corner out of the parking lot, the pain started. I recognized the ache right away as an attack, and tried to stop the anxiety. I thought to myself that I could handle it, no big deal, etc, etc. The only problem was that this time, the pain wasn’t stopping (it was actually getting worse), and the anxiety was amplifying. Then just as I was really ready to pull the stop string and get off and pretty much ruin the idea of going to school, I remembered my martial art days and the power of music. In went the headphones, on came the classical Mozart, and away went the stress. I focused on the music, on the notes, and began to breathe with the rhythm. I couldn’t believe it, but it was working. The anxiety began to fade away and the pain became manageable. I kept the songs playing until I got to school, and went about my business (save you the details).
So the lesson in all this? Don’t disregard the power of music. While it’s easy to just want silence, sometimes it is the worst thing for you, and can only help you focus in on the bad, on the symptoms, and all the other things best left forgotten. Music is a great vice, a good friend, and an even better motivator. So grab that favorite CD of yours, load it onto iTunes, put it on your phone, get out there and give em hell!